ISSUES IN FOCUS

Education

As with all nations, America's future depends upon the success of our nation's youth. Democrats believe all children and young adults deserve a quality education that fully develops their abilities, prepares them to succeed in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, and empowers them to contribute to their communities and the nation. Unfortunately, far too many of our nation's students are not adequately proficient in core subject areas and lag behind their peers in other countries. Moreover, the rising cost of attending college has prevented qualified students from obtaining college degrees and left many graduates burdened with overwhelming student debt.

In the 111th Congress, Democrats are committed to improving the nation's education system -- by making college more affordable and investing in our public schools and early childhood education. Since taking control of Congress two years ago, we have made a significant down payment towards achieving these ends, but we are far from satisfied. President-Elect Obama and the Democratic Congress will continue to lead the way for change -- to address the education priorities of our nation, such as:

Reforming the No Child Left Behind law, and providing adequate funding for its implementation and improving the assessments used to track student progress;

Making math and science education a national priority;

Addressing the dropout crisis by investing in intervention strategies at the middle school level;

Expanding high-quality afterschool opportunities;

Supporting college outreach programs that encourage more young people from low-income families to prepare for a college education;

Making college affordable and accessible to all Americans by creating a new tax credit to cover the cost of college tuition, and simplifying the application process for financial aid; and